Carol Weiss is a published author, composer, conductor, pianist and teacher who has written 10 musical plays for children, which are performed by schools and family theatres throughout the country. She is the recipient of several ASCAP awards, a Drama-Logue award and a presidential citation for excellence in teaching.
As a student at the University of Chicago, Weiss worked for Mayor Daley's Urban Gateways foundation, writing and performing touring musicals for inner-city school children. She also scored educational filmstrips for Encyclopedia Britannica Films.
In 1975 Weiss co-authored a musical comedy revue and toured with it for 18 months (and 26 states), after which she moved to Los Angeles. She worked as an accompanist and musical director at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and as a conductor in several California theatres, including the Sacramento Music Circus and the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. In 1984, when the Olympics were staged in Los Angeles, Weiss wrote a musical revue used by American Express as its "official" Olympic entertainment. She wrote songs for the PBS series Square One TV and for two cable TV series-Slapstick Studios starring Dick Shawn and The Good Book starring Robert Morse. She was the musical director for General Hospital's annual "Nurses' Ball" (ABC TV) and vocal director for the Gershwin Trust's Lady Be Good cast album.
An experienced teacher and vocal coach, Weiss has been a guest lecturer for the National Association of Teachers of Singing and for UCLA. She has worked with many well-known performers, including Jason Alexander, Scott Bakula, Hinton Battle, Theodore Bikel, Debbie Boone, Patrick Cassidy, Brad Garrett, Lou Gossett, Sam Harris, Teri Hatcher, George Hearn, Barry Manilow, Tommy Tune and Robin Williams. Weiss was the staff accompanist at thousands of Broadway and national tour auditions, including the original companies of Beauty and the Beast, Ragtime, Miss Saigon, The Lion King, City of Angels, Fosse, Kiss of the Spider Woman and Les Misérables. She was the Los Angeles casting director for the national tours of Fame, 42nd Street, Miss Saigon, The Music Man and 1776.
Weiss has been commissioned by several organizations, including the Goodman School of Drama, the Long Beach Civic Light Opera and the Nine O' Clock Players in Hollywood, to musically adapt classic stories, including: Snow White, The Fir Tree, Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Frankenstein, Aladdin, Cinderella, The Velveteen Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland, The Emperor's New Clothes and The Tortoise and the Hare.
